Atomic physicist is Distinguished Faculty Scholar

Jan. 18, 2001

KALAMAZOO -- A Western Michigan University atomic physicist
who is leading an international 'dream team' of scientists exploring
atomic and molecular photoionization will receive the University's
highest faculty honor next month.

Dr. Nora Berrah, professor of physics, has been named the
University's 2000 Distinguished Faculty Scholar. The award will
be presented during the University's Academic Convocation at
5 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 1, in Kirsch Auditorium of the Fetzer
Center.

The Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award, established in 1978,
recognizes those whose work constitutes a significant body of
achievement, most of which has been accomplished while a faculty
member at WMU. Nominations are sought campus-wide for recipients,
who also must have a wide body of recognition beyond the University.
The award includes a plaque and a $2,000 cash award. As an award
recipient, Berrah also will have $2,000 added to her base salary.

Berrah, who has been on the WMU faculty since 1991, is recognized
as one of the world's leading atomic physicists. She has received
nearly $3 million in U.S. Department of Energy funding for her
research on the structure and dynamics of atoms and molecules.
More than $1 million of that funding has been for Berrah's leadership
of a team of international scientists who developed a sophisticated
experimental research facility at the Advanced Light Source located
at Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory.

The author or co-author of more than 80 journal articles,
Berrah has made more than 60 presentations around the globe as
a guest and contributed more than 100 papers to national and
international conferences. This past year, she served as chairperson
of the Users Executive Committee at the Advanced Light Source
at Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory. The committee oversees
all scientific operations at that facility. Her emerging prominence
in her field led her to be elected in 1999 as a fellow in the
American Physical Society which, according to one WMU colleague,
"is a particularly high honor since election is limited
to no more than one half of one percent of the (organization's)
membership in any given year."

"It is clear that in her relatively short professional
career at WMU, Dr. Berrah has been a truly outstanding researcher,
having achieved an extensive body of accomplishments that are
widely recognized nationally and internationally," he noted
in support of her nomination.

Berrah's research also has been credited with uncovering several
here-to-fore unknown secrets of atoms and molecules. In supporting
her nomination for the WMU award, a scientist at another university
cited several examples of her pioneering work, stating that "Berrah's
experiments in helium double photoionization have been influential
in resolving a decades-long discrepancy between theory and experiment.
As a result, we now have a far deeper understanding of this fundamental
three-body problem."

An international colleague echoed this sentiment stating that
Berrah has "contributed significantly to a better understanding
of the ultimate behavior of our natural world."

Nora Berrah has the unique capacity to be the new world leader
in the study of atomic and molecular photoionization processes,"
he wrote.

Berrah has also been lauded for her efforts in mentoring other
women scientists and promoting interest in science among young
women. Her activities in that area include personally working
with graduate and undergraduate students, presenting seminars
at Argonne National Laboratory on careers in physics and research,
and participating in "Take our Daughters and Sons to Work
Day" at the ALS facility.

Berrah's bearing in the global scientific community is especially
important to her work as a mentor, noted one colleague from another
university, because "Nora is internationally known and is
easily the most visible woman atomic physicist her age."

Her renown has led to a variety of consulting and advising
roles in the international scientific community. She advises
the U.S. Department of Energy on the construction of large accelerators
and on the allocation of financial resources to research. She
also is a member of the committee that advises UNESCO on international
science issues, and she reviews publications and national and
international proposals for the National Science Foundation and
for the Department of Energy.

Since being at WMU, Berrah has garnered several awards in
recognition of her scientific contributions, including the international
Humboldt Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
and a WMU President's Award for excellence in research.

Prior to coming to WMU, Berrah was a visiting scientist at
the Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max Planck Gesellschaft in Berlin,
Germany, and at the Laboratoire pour l'Utilisation du Rayonement
Electronique at the Universite' d'Orsay in Paris, France. She
also worked as an assistant scientist at the Argonne National
Laboratory.

Berrrah earned her bachelor's degree from the University of
Algiers and completed her graduate work at the University of
Virginia, where she earned a doctoral degree in atomic physics.

As part of her award, Berrah has been invited to give a presentation
to the University community at a Distinguished Faculty Scholar
Colloquium. The date, time and location of that event will be
announced later.